Chosen by Monk
Despite the ongoing, and some cases renewed, lockdowns in many parts of the Überverse, we are still receiving a healthy bundle of submissions for our coveted ‘Video Of The Week’ title. Many of them are produced against the background of continuing quarantine conditions in some countries, while others reflect artists being able to return and flex their creative muscles once again.
Our chosen offering this week is actually a cover version – something we wouldn’t normally consider for our lead award, but this one is a bit special… well, the reasoning behind it is, as it is Irish melocore mob Words That Burn delivering their take on the Billie Eilish teenybop hit ‘Everything I Need’. Now, I’d never heard of Ms Eilish until I had the misfortune to tune into a lockdown edition of the Glastonbury festival, and to say that I was extremely confused by what assaulted me both aurally and visually would be something of an understatement… However, the message portrayed by the song, and especially this version, is extremely powerful and poignant, as it was released to mark the 13th anniversary of the death of Sophie Lancaster, the teenager brutally murdered in a vicious hate crime in 2007. The band are encouraging everyone who streams the video to donate to the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, the charity which focusses on the creating respect for the understanding of subcultures in our communities.
Words That Burn vocalist Ronnie Vox told us about the project:
“When we finally decided on the concept of the video, we spoke to our management about doing something meaningful. The Sophie Lancaster Foundation is a voice that we as a band and a lot of people around the world who are involved in subcultures in one way or another can relate to. SLF is very well known to people in the rock/metal/goth and underground community and are massively respected for the amazing work they do. It is a huge honour for us to be working on this project and especially to get support from Sophie’s family.”
The video features a montage of homemade videos – some of them extremely powerful in their own right – that were submitted by fans from around the world, in which they can be seen expressing themselves to the music:
We stay on the island of Ireland for our first special mention, which comes from Dublin-based multi-national alt-groovers Stone Sea, who describe their music as possessing “Machiavellian pinches of universal seasoning”. It’s a quality more than ably demonstrated on their latest single, ‘Dream Song’, of which the band’s Brazilian-born founder/guitarist/vocalist Elvis Suhadolnik Bonesso said:
“[It] came out after forcing myself for a few months to describe what happens with my unconsciousness when I sleep. The images I had from past dreams and from thoughts that would come to me when I’m about to sleep were partially described in the lyrics, but more importantly, the feelings I felt were described in the nuances and melodies of the song. I think it is a special song, it talks about so much in such little time, I feel dreams are exactly like that too … “
A total change, both geographically and tonally, as we cross to Denmark, where we meet up with the four-man wrecking crue by the name of Demolizer, who describe their sound – quite accurately, in my opinion – as “gut-crushing, hard-hitting, and unfiltered thrash metal that will have you picking up your teeth with crushed fingers after barely surviving the pit”. They set their country’s capital city on fire with the lead track of their forthcoming new album, the highly appropriately entitled ‘Thrashmageddon’, which is due for release this coming Friday (11 September). The accompanying video is a gloriously tongue-in-cheek take on the recent spate of Vikings-themed movies and TV series, with a beautifully inane modernist twist:
Our penultimate offering this week comes from resurgent San Diego post-hardcore garage rockers Hot Snakes, who exploded back onto the scene after a 14-year hiatus with 2018’s magnificent ‘Jericho Sirens’. New single ‘Not In Time’ is not a new song, but has only been previously available as the B-side of the limited 7” edition of last year’s ‘Checkmate’ release. It’s now been re-released in its own right and given the full video treatment courtesy of this inventive acid-meets-skatepunk clip, put together by drummer Jason Kourkounis’ sister, Jessica:
Some good old-fashioned parpiness for our final offering, courtesy of Macedonian AOR revivalists Wild Souls, who tell us that they will definitely remember us just as much as the relationship in this storyboarded video for their latest single, the fifth to lifted from their criminally overlooked (at least on our part) latest album, ‘Queen Of My Heart’:
Well, there you go. That’s your lot for this week. Hope you have enjoyed the new sights and sounds we have brought to you this week. Until next Sunday, keep ‘er lit, keep ‘er between the hedges and #StaySafe…
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